Looking at Organizational Culture from a School Book Club's Perspective

Organizational Culture: Business Club

An organizational culture that I’ve been studying and attempting to gain an understanding of is the business club available at the school. Business is too broad a subject to only grasp one aspect of without taking into consideration all the other parts that go hand-in-hand with it and the proliferous variation in size, scale, company type etc. that can be influenced by business theory. The business club covers topics such as economic theories, finance, and the like in their meetings.

“Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company's employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions” (Corporate Culture, n.d.). This can come to include all the values, beliefs, norms and habits within a specific company demonstrated by its employees and managers that comprise this culture. However, it is something that should be inherent within the company, built off whatever lead to its inception and then shoots off from there: “I feel the most important distinction to make here is that company culture is something that is pre-existing in your company’s genetic code; it’s not something that employees bring with them” (Craig, 2014).

I observed the members of the business club interacting with one another and their discussions regarding company culture and its variations among the many corporations that exist nowadays. For example, social media companies such as Google or Facebook have a more relaxed atmosphere that is more focused on creativity and allowing their employees to free themselves from the stresses and blockages of everyday life in the workspace. On the other hand, companies such as Goldman Sachs or J.P. Morgan have a more rigorous and professional setting where work must get done in a calculated and efficient manner, otherwise potential clients may be lost and profits vanish as a result. It’s these two extremes between an actively fun-focused and relaxed setting and a strict, traditional work setting that set the stage for the middle ground where most companies tend to fall on in the spectrum, and this helps individuals decides what’s a better fit for them.

The club itself is organized in a similar manner to a run-of-the-mill corporation, with a CEO, sub-level managers, and then the regular, day-to-day employees that do most of the low-level work within the club. Their designated jobs range from analyzing various stocks on the market and determining which are profitable and which aren’t, to managing already selected stocks invested in and extrapolating where these stocks are going to lead to. It’s a lot more easy-going than a place such as Goldman Sachs, but far from Google, with members of the club being expected to contribute on a regular basis, attend meetings whenever called, and offer up any noteworthy information when had. Otherwise, they are expected to “resign” from the club and are no longer considered members from that point on. Company culture is changeable, and constantly evolves along with the members: “Whether the influence to change comes naturally over time from the addition of new employees with different views and approaches…” (Skills to Help You Understand and Navigate a Company's Culture, 2016)

The business club is something of a company culture in and of itself, with the top-tier members influencing the rest of the group with their own values and beliefs regarding how work should get done: “A company’s values are the core of its culture. While a vision articulates a company’s purpose, values offer a set of guidelines on the behaviors and mindsets needed to achieve that vision” (Six Components of a Great Corporate Culture, 2013). Also, how to increase productivity and efficiency within the group, and what they should stand for in terms of mission statement and code of ethics. With this, the business club satisfies what it means to be a “company” of sorts.